The Sprites We Could Be
by SpelCastrMax
Summary: In different places, but at the same moment, a young Bob and Dot both figure out what they want from life when they are older.
1. Big Day

The Sprites We Could Be  
started May 21, 2002 at 2:30am Finished June 6, 2002 at 3:00am  
Author's Note: So this fic isn't exactly a romance. In fact...well, I think you should read it for yourself and see why I categorized it as that. If it existed, I would have put this in the pre-romance section cause that's what this story reminds me of. It's like the origins tale for a superhero-the back story for a romance fic. Okay, I'm done rambling now. Just send me feedback if you think I should have categorized this differently.  
  
  
Chapter One-Big Day  
Dot Matrix had never been one for sappy goodbyes. True, she could be a little weepy at times and her nostalgic attitude always seemed to get in the way when she was trying to move on from one thing to another. In her mind, life was perfectly planned and she could set a date for every moment of it, even the big changes. For example, this day was a giant change for her. It was graduation. After this, she would never again have to set foot at the Mainframe Upgrade School. It was located in the twin city, which was always an inconvenience for her since she lived across the bridge with her Dad and little brother. No one at school understood why they chose that side of Mainframe, which was mostly inhabited by binomes, not like the twin where a good number of the advanced sprites lived.  
She sat at the table in their apartment looking over several sketches for the outside of her favorite project since she had been 1.1, a diner. Her father came into the room and pointed to the drawing where the apostrophe in the word "Dot's" floated above the rest of the sign.  
"I like that one," he told her as he struggled with his ugly brown tie.  
Her little brother bounced into the room and nodded his head. "I like that one too!"  
"I guess that settles it. I've already started building the diner itself and I think someone was going to delete me if I didn't come up with a sign soon." Dot glanced up at Welman Matrix as he growled at the tie and commented, "You don't need it, Dad. Mom always said you looked better without one anyway."  
He took the advice and knotted the tie around his daughter's wrist, adding to her many bangle bracelets. "I present this um...good luck charm to Mainframe's youngest business woman and the top of her graduating class. Enzo, let us make a toast to the smartest girl...oh, forgive me, I mean young woman in Mainframe."  
"If the other kids talked about her the way you do, Dad, she would have had a date for the graduation dance," Enzo pointed out, "Dot, when you're rich and powerful and the diner is finished are you going to tell everyone from school except Artie, Paq, and Sixtyfive that they can't come in?"  
Dot laughed, shaking her head. She knew the other kids didn't exclude her to be mean or because they didn't like her, they just didn't know her. She preferred spending her time with other projects than going circuit racing after the prom. "Enzo, of course not, that's discrimination."  
"What's that?" he eagerly wondered.  
A knock on the door interrupted them. There stood two sprites and one binome. They were Dot's friends, not necessarily her best friends. She usually was too busy to hang out with them, but they were the three most patient people at school. They were usually willing to take Dot with them places when she wanted and had time to go. Dot had never had any really close friends, but she was happy because she didn't know any better.  
Sixtyfive was a sprite with bright pink skin and short hair that she spike upward. She was so skinny she was almost invisible. Artie was the only boy in the group and the only binome. He was a one with brown hair that he always wore a green hat over. Artie had a habit of lying when he should tell the truth and telling the truth when he should lie. Finally, there was the only one of the three Dot felt any real closeness to. Paq was a girl with one mission in life: to find a way out of Mainframe. She was always peeking over Dot's dad's shoulder to see if his work on portals had lead up to her freedom. It wasn't that she didn't like Mainframe, it was just that she was ready to move on to someplace new, if such a place existed.  
"Hey, Professor Matrix," Artie greeted, "I thought you were going to meet with the city officials today?"  
"I am," he replied nervously.  
"Well, shouldn't you be wearing a tie?"  
"No," Dot cut in, "My dad is fine the way he is. Are we ready for graduation?"  
"Just waiting on you," Paq said with a smile.  
Dot packed her sketches into a data folder and ran to the door. "Bye Enzo. Bye Dad, good luck. I'll see you both tonight." She waved before closing the door behind her. Tonight, something big in her life was going to end.  
******************  
Bob, Cadet 452, loved his number. He hadn't been at the academy for as long as some of the others in his class, yet Bob was certain that in no time the word "cadet" would be changed to "Guardian". His own image now thrilled him. The blue suit, the yellow and black icon, even the black boots his buddies from school had given him seemed to be special now. He was going to mend and defend. Today he started game training. This was a change he had been looking forward to since was a little sprite. He couldn't wait. Although, while all the other cadets were studying read-me files on different strategies and game types. Bob preferred to wait and take everything as it came. The only plan he had ever had while compiling was to be a guardian. Growing up in the Super Computer, that came as no surprise.  
He arrived to class on time, surprising his teachers. As everyone was lined up for role call, one of the superiors, a girl assigned as Bob's partner in order to keep an eye on him, watched him with almost shock. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were actually excited about this," she commented.  
"This is what being a Guardian is all about, isn't it, Dixon?" Bob whispered, "Protecting people by playing the games."  
"Yeah, but you aren't supposed to enjoy the games," Dixon Green scoffed.  
Turbo was there. The Prime Guardian himself wanted to see how the cadets handled themselves in the games. True, this was only a simulation program, but it would seem real enough to the inexperienced young sprites.  
"Alright," one of the instructors called out, "Now that we're all present let's just review some of the minor details. First of all, how to Reboot..."  
Bob felt himself groan. They were starting with things even the most basic sprite in the net knew about. At this rate, they wouldn't be in a real game for seconds. He shook his head to stay awake and would try to be polite by pretending to pay attention.  
However, Turbo wasn't fooled. "Is there a problem, Cadet 452?" he gruffly asked.  
"No sir," Bob stumbled, "It's just...we know all this. Shouldn't we be learning something new before going into the simulation."  
"Well, if you'll just be patient, cadet, you may find that this lecture isn't as pointless as you may think," the instructor defended then continued his talk.  
But Bob didn't want to be patient. Today something big in his life was going to start and he wanted it to start as soon as possible.  
****************** 


	2. Challenges

Chapter Two-Challenges  
"After today, the world will never be the same. We may go on to own businesses and raise families or maybe even become Command.Com someday." Dot paused her speech so the audience could chuckle at the thought. No one could remember when there had been a different Comman.Com than the one that was in the Principal Office at that minute. It didn't help that no one ever saw him either. Dot continued, after glancing in the audience at her dad and Phong for support, "From this moment on, we decide the sprites we are going to be, good, bad, and indifferent. I know we all have the capability to be anything. But no matter what, we can look back at this and proudly say we survived. Congratulations, fellow classmates!"  
They all cheered and Dot stepped away from the podium, smiling confidently as she switched the tassel on her cap from one side to the other. The other sprite threw their caps in the air and waited to catch them all as they came back down. No one noticed one of the teachers stop Dot on her way back to her seat.  
It was Mr. Quick, the dreaded science professor. "Ms. Matrix, I do believe your speech was a success," he told her coldly.  
"Thank you," she told him politely and kept walking.  
Mr. Quick continued, forcing her to pause to listen, "However, I do believe that you were asked by the school bored not to make jokes at this solemn occasion." He eyed her multicolored hair disapprovingly.  
"I think you're mistaken. I know you told me that they wanted to keep it serious this year, but I double checked and they encouraged the jokes. Anything to keep the students awake, they said." She smiled smugly and finished the walk back to her seat. When she was there, the smile faded and she began to grumble. "I really don't like him."  
"That's okay, I don't think he likes you either," Paq replied jokingly, "Face it, every since your dad won that science award, Mr. Quick has been making your life miserable."  
The whole class began to file out of the stadium, a large crowd ready to find their families and friends with plans of celebration. Dot let out a sigh of relief. "At least now I'll never have to put up with him again."  
Paq ran over to join the giant group of kids to start making plans for what they were going to do to celebrate. Enzo raced to his sisters arms and Welman Matrix hugged his daughter.  
"I'll see you at home. I have to go have a talk with some of the other professors," he explained as he congratulated her again.  
"Okay Dad," Dot replied, still holding Ezno as they approached the group of students.  
They couldn't see her coming and talked loudly over the noise of the crowd. Ana Crom, a zero binome, wrinkled her nose and commented, "Dot Matrix isn't coming with us, is she?"  
Artie shrugged, "She could use some fun."  
Palo Smith scoffed, "Little miss perfect, yeah right. I dated her for a time, remember. She doesn't do fun."  
Paq spoke up, "C'mon, she isn't that bad. Dot tends to be a little too busy sometimes, but she's a nice sprite."  
"I don't care if she's the greatest Samaritan of both cities," another boy gruffly opinionated, "She thinks she's the User and we're just basic as basic can be."  
Enzo was about to yell in protest, but Dot shushed him. She had two options at that moment. She could go home and cry over the way they treated her or...  
"So, where are we going tonight?" she asked cheerfully as she wedged her way into their circle, "Circuit racing? What about the data slide? I hear it's open all night."  
"You want to come with us?!" Sixtyfive asked with her mouth in a perfect "o" shape.  
"Dot, don't you have plans for your diner to work on?" Paq was also astonished.  
"It can wait. Besides, this is our graduation. I want to spend it with the people I've compiled up with." She set Enzo down. "You better go find Dad and have him take you home."  
"But Sis," the toddler whined, "Why do you want to go with these basic, low..."  
"Enzo! Go home!" she firmly told him, then smiled at the group hoping they wouldn't catch on that she had heard what they had said.  
******************  
"Cadets, I wish you luck on your first game," Turbo stated, "Now I realize this is just a simulation, but I want you to treat it as if it were a real game."  
His speech was interrupted by a deep voice. "Warning, incoming game. Warning, incoming game."  
Bob's roommate whistled. "Wow, this simulation technology is really good. That sounds just like the real warning."  
"Carden, that was the real warning," Bob told him glancing out the window to see the sky turn dark, "There's a game landing."  
Turbo and the other instructors all read their keytools and grew worried faces. "It's landing right over us," Dixon stated.  
The youngest of the teachers swallowed hard. "We have to evacuate the students."  
"No time," Turbo said, "Listen cadets, the simulation is going to be postponed. In the meantime, you will experience some real life training. Now stay close to the Guardians and watch us for directions."  
The purple cube landed and everyone took in the surroundings. It was a desolate battle field. Dixon read the game stats from Glitch. "It's a war game. We have to release the prisoners from the fort before the User can delete us. We win by taking over the fort."  
"That sounds easy enough," Bob commented.  
"Let's reboot and split into teams," Turbo ordered. Everyone double clicked their icons and changed into army camo. Bob and Carden were put under the prime Guardian's direction while their classmates were divided amongst the teachers.  
Turbo and the two cadets crouched in a trench and glanced up at the stone fort in the distance, the User standing on the wall with a sneer on his face and a gun his hand. "Alright, there's a tunnel around here some place," Turbo said, glancing at Copeland.  
"Is that it?" Bob said pointing to a hole almost concealed by bushes.  
They followed him into the small tunnel, crawling on their stomachs with the prime Guardian's keytool serving as a flashlight until they reached the end, meaning Bob's head collided with a rock. Pushing on a stone over his head, Bob managed to find the way out of the tunnel and crept into an empty storage room. Turbo climbed out last, ready with his next orders for them. Before he could talk the three heard Dixon and several cadets shouting from a nearby room.  
"They must have been captured," Turbo sighed, "Cadets, I want you to free the prisoners while I find the other Guardians. We'll rendezvous at the control room and take over the fort."  
"But sir..." Carden started to argue, "We have no weapons."  
"Oh, c'mon buddy," Bob said smiling, "We can improvise. This User doesn't stand a chance."  
Turbo was gone at that point and the two cadets were left to their own devices. They stalked out of the storeroom careful to be on the lookout for game sprites. It didn't take long before they were at the hallway entrance to the prison ward. Glancing inside, they saw that there were no guards and no alarms systems. "You're right, Bob," Carden said with new confidence, "This is easy."  
"Wait a second, Carden, something isn't right." He reached out his blue hand to stop his roommate.  
However, the sprite paid no attention and strolled into the ward. Three game sprites dressed in military attire jumped upon him, tied him up, and threw him in a cell. Then, they turned to Bob. "Oh boy!" the cadet said and made a dash down the corridor. His enemies followed closely, shooting at him whenever they could steady their riffles. He ducked each bullet. "Oh great, they have guns. Where did they get guns!"  
He escaped into an open door and slammed it behind him. They pushed in from the hallway while he tried to use himself as a doorjamb. His feet skidded across the stones as the three spites opened the door. He glanced around the room he had entered and noticed the weapons lining the rooms. Growing a wicked smile, Bob released the door and went to a corner of the room. The three game sprites fell with their riffles ready. Then, they saw the cadet with a submachine gun in one hand and a W-12 Riot shotgun in the other. Their mouths fell open and all three ran. "Stay frosty," Bob called after them, then to himself said, "I think I'm going like games,"  
****************** 


	3. Realizations

Chapter Three-Realizations  
Dot had won. Against all of the other kids who practically spent all of their time at the circuit racing track, Dot Matrix won. To be exact, she had kicked ASCII! Instead of begrudging her the victory and leaving her stranded there, everyone congratulated her with slaps on the back and excited hugs.  
Now that the games were done and almost every place in Mainframe was closing for the night, the group piled into two small cars, all squashing together and practically hanging out the windows in order to fit. They drove around town like mad sprites, expressing their freedom in loud, long shouts of happiness. The cheerful daughter of Welman Matrix found herself rolling her eyes, then finally joining them in the cries. "We're out! Everyone hear that! No more school!"  
When they had all settled down, the mutual decision was to go to Floating Point Park and hang out. The girls laid on the grass while the boys tossed around a jet ball. Ana Crom sighed dreamily and commented, "Finally, our lives begin. I can't wait until I'm married and rich."  
"How are you going be rich? Don't you need a job before you're married?" Dot pointed out.  
"Not if I marry a rich sprite," Ana concluded, "Maybe Mr. Mitchell. He's not that much older than me."  
Everyone in the room wrinkled their noses in disgust. In turn, everyone had something to say about where they hoped to be even in the next few seconds. Most of their dreams were small, unlike Ms. Matrix who was most likely going to own half of Mainframe by the time they were all getting settled in jobs. As they discussed the future and the past, Dot glanced down at the tie around her wrist. Without a word to anyone, she began to dig a small hole in the ground.  
"What are you doing, Dot?" Paq questioned with surprise.  
She placed the tie in the hole and covered it with earth. "Oh, nothing," she said with a smile, "I thought I'd just leave something here to come back to. When I am a clever business woman, I want to remember this night when everything turned out alright; when we had all theses wishes. Pretty silly, huh."  
Paq gave an expression that stated, "Yeah, silly, but very much something you would do." Artie called everyone over to where he had set his camera up on the hood of his car. They all swarmed around the bench and waited for the flash. The picture was taken and everyone was promised a copy of their first photo of the their life after Upgrade School.  
Dot was having fun, but she couldn't help feeling a little left out. As all her companions reminisced and laughed over the past few cycles of their lives, she knew that she wasn't in any of these stories. It wasn't that she was regretting the way she had spent her time, Dot just suddenly wished she had a friend, a best friend. She'd even settle for a good friend. None of the sprites her age ever seemed to understand her or agree with her. It was like when she buried the tie. No one really saw why she did it. Then again, that wasn't what she really wanted either. To tell the truth, Dot didn't know what she wanted. She figured that was what compiling up was for, finding out what you want and searching for it.  
******************  
Bob stood before the Guardians trying not to reveal the satisfied smile on his face. Even though they were scolding him for not following orders, the cadet only heard the "you followed your instinct and won the game by keeping a cool head..." Then, when they were done talking, all of them left except Turbo.  
The prime Guardian narrowed his eyes at the cadet and crossed his arms over his chest. "You did a good job today, Cadet. It's too bad your classmate had to figure out what you knew the hard way," he said.  
"What? Who?" Bob asked with confusion.  
"Carden was hurt in the game. Nothing serious, nothing the diagnostic programs can't fix. I just hope this won't make you too confident. No one can predict everything the User is going to do. Games are a serious matter."  
Carden had been hurt! Bob glanced at his boots for a second and then back up at Turbo. "Sir?"  
"What is it?" Turbo asked trying not to sound impatient.  
"Why?" Turbo stared at him with confusion in his face. Bob clarified, "Why does the User send the games? What's the point?"  
"Bob, no one can understand why and it doesn't do any good to wonder about it."  
"But why not," Bob insisted, "We could try to study the User, figure out why this person or creature or being seems to get pleasure from the suffering of others. Why does he or she create viruses?"  
"Cadet, you spend your energy worrying about stuff like that, you'll find that you won't have many people who are willing to help you." Turbo explained leaning his hands on the top of his desk. "Listen Bob, if you continue to ask questions about things we could never possibly understand, you will probably find that not a lot of friends are going to help you. So, just think about that before you theorizes with impossible goals. You're dismissed."  
"But sir..." Bob didn't push it though. He exited the room and made a decision. Lack of allies or not, he would someday know why. It didn't have to be his top priority, of course, but it never hurt to think about reasons for the User's actions. Not that it wouldn't be nice to have someone listen to him. They didn't have to agree with him or help, but to just listen without stomping all over each idea the way Turbo and his classmates would. Bob wasn't sure of exactly what he would do when he had someone to talk to, but he never was one for planning ahead.  
****************** 


	4. All Compiled Up

Chapter Four-All Compiled Up  
Enzo found Bob grumbling under his breath in the Principal Office. After their recent experience where Bob saved his brain, the young sprite was constantly thanking the Guardian. For his age, Enzo could be very observant despite his constant movement. He could tell Bob wasn't happy about something.  
"Hey Bob! What's wrong?"  
"Oh, hi Ezno. Nothing. Your sister and I just...we..."  
"Had another fight?" Enzo put in still smiling.  
"I don't know what happened," Bob admitted with defeat, "I was just teasing her about how much she works."  
Phong came rolling up, having overheard the conversation. "What exactly did you say to her, my child?"  
Rubbing the back of his neck, Bob remembered their exact exchange of words. "I said 'I wouldn't be surprised if you spent more time working than playing with your friends as a kid'. It was just a joke and she went ballistic on me."  
"Oh dear," Phong said shaking his head, "I suggest you apologize."  
"Apologize! For what? I didn't say anything wrong!" Bob replied with surprise.  
It was Enzo's turn to talk, "Uh...Bob, Dot didn't really have any friends as a kid. At least, not that I can remember."  
Bob's jaw fell open. "You're kidding. But there's that picture at your place of her with all those sprites at the park."  
"Oh that," Enzo shrugged, "It was graduation and Dot decided to have some fun, I guess."  
"I don't get it," Bob told the young and old sprites, "Dot's so... well, friendly. She's nice to everyone. She helped me feel right at home in Mainframe and..."  
"Be that as it may, young Guardian, it is not always as easy to make time for friends as it may seem," Phong explained, "And twice as difficult to keep them."  
Enzo and Bob went to the diner, where the sprite in question was sure to be even though it had just closed for the night. Peeking through the darkened windows, they saw the female sprite sitting at the counter with her head resting on her folded arms.  
Guardian 452 glanced at the young Matrix. "Maybe you should stay here, Enzo, and call someone in case she throws a stool at me or something." He started inside, after the kid nodded his head in understanding. Bob approached Dot, expecting her to raise her head and glare at him. It took him a moment to realize her precious data organizer was on and just laying next to her peaceful form. "Oh, great. I actually come to apologize and Dot's sleeping." He motioned for Enzo to come inside.  
"You can talk, Bob," Ezno said in his usual loud, hyper way, "When Dot is out, she is out. She could sleep through a game cube landing."  
Bob sighed, "Let's put her to bed. I guess all that yelling at me wore her out."  
Bob picked Dot up and carried her home, allowing Enzo to hold open the doors for him. He placed Dot in her bed and pulled a blanket over her. "There," he said, satisfied with his tucking in abilities, "Enzo, do you need anything before I go?" He turned, but the little sprite had already run to the family room where a vid window opened for him to watch with Mike the TV's Before Bedtime Movie. Bob exhaled and smirked, then re-entered Dot's bedroom to check on her. Her eyes were now sitting open and staring at him with confusion. "OH...um...hi Dot," he embarrassedly stated, praying to the User that she wasn't about to kill him.  
"Hi Bob," she replied, blinking a little, not sure of what to say next.  
Neither of the two noticed Enzo standing just outside the doorway to find out how it was all going to turn out.  
Guardian Bob took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I upset you earlier. I didn't mean to."  
"I know. I'm sorry I overreacted," she told him with sincerity.  
Meanwhile, Enzo thought his heart was going to stop. They were actually apologizing to each other without having to be tricked into it.  
Bob took the chair from Dot's desk and pulled it up next to her bed. Sitting down, he motioned to one of the pictures on her wall. Directly below the photo of Dot, Enzo, and their father was the scene of graduation night at Floating Point Park. Dot was the way she had been when he first met her, a colorful, cheery girl with rainbow streaks in her hair and her icon hanging on a necklace. She was sitting with various ones, zeros, and young sprites. "Hey, there's Mr. Mitchell's girlfriend," he said pointing to a zero known as Ana Crom, "Where are all these other friends of yours now, anyway."  
"Most of them weren't really my friends," she admitted casually, "We'd all known each other our whole lives. It was like they were more used to me then were my friends, except for maybe Paq. Where they all are, I couldn't say. I know Sixtyfive, Palo Smith, and girlfriend were...in the explosion of the twin city. The rest of them all left. Paq was the first. She was out of Mainframe as soon as we had intersystem transport. I lost track of the rest of them."  
Bob gave a little nod of sympathy. "I find it hard to believe you didn't have more real friends, Dot."  
"Well, it wasn't as easy for me as it probably was for you, Mr. Super Computer. I had to compile up with those sprites. You probably met new people all the time," she argued in self defense.  
"Whoa, hold on a nano," Bob replied holding up his hands, "Don't think it was that easy. True, I was one of the more likable cadets. Just my natural charm, I guess." Dot rolled her eyes and he eased off the ego-trip. "But because of my ideas and theories about Users and viruses I'd end up by myself a lot when it came time for class projects."  
"What's wrong with your theories? At least they aren't another destruction of the world story or myth about how the Users came to be."  
"You don't mind listening to my theories?!" Bob questioned with surprise.  
"Why should I?" Dot said, "There's no harm in listening. And despite your...rash methods, you have some plausible ideas."  
Bob smiled at her, his true boyish grin of happiness. "Thanks, Dot." He glanced at her alarm vid window. "I should probably get home before Mike tries to hold a party in the apartment or use it as a studio or something." He returned the chair to it's proper place and switched off Dot's bedroom lamp. With the light from the hallway, he moved back to her bedside and kissed her on the forehead.  
He started for the door, when Dot called out, "Bob, tomorrow will you come with me to Floating Point Park? There's something I left there."  
"No problem," Bob replied, "Good night, friend."  
******************  
SEND FEEDBACK!!!!!!!!!!! (please) 


End file.
